Center for Home-based Child Care Research

forecasted

This cooperative agreement would establish a Center for Home-based Child Care Research to support locally defined research on home-based child care in the United States. The purpose of the Center is to provide leadership, build research capacity in the field, and offer support in the development and facilitation of local research in states, Territories, and Tribes to improve understanding of home-based child care availability.Home-based child care (HBCC) providers, or individuals and small business owners paid to provide child care in private residences or homes, are an essential segment of the child care landscape. They constitute the largest portion of the child care and early education (CCEE) workforce and serve the vast majority of children birth through school-age who are in regular nonparental care. It is critical for the Administration for Children and Families and for local communities to learn more about HBCC providers, in order to inform federal efforts and local initiatives to increase access to safe and high-quality child care for low-income, working families.This research center would promote sound research examining home-based child care (HBCC) and the factors that support or suppress the availability of HBCC in communities throughout the country. In addition, this Center would advance the field’s understanding of HBCC engagement in public programs and quality improvement efforts. The Center’s activities would build research and evaluation capacity in the field and support research in state, Territories and Tribes to inform local initiatives designed to sustain and strengthen HBCC. This Center would ideally bring together a team that has experience investigating home-based child care, evaluating Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) program and policies, and assessing the needs and experiences of families with low-incomes, in tribal communities and of historically minoritized populations. This Center would be equipped to strengthen the ability of local research partnerships to conduct model research projects that effectively address questions concerning HBCC in local contexts, while contributing to broader understanding in the field about HBCC.